The Allen Koenigsberg Phonograph Collection
Lot 3027:
Description
This incredibly rare pair of late Victorian advertising ephemera takes us back to the historic 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Included in this lot is a colorful lithographed trade card produced by Beacon Litho. Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, for Hub Gore Makers, brilliantly depicting Uncle Sam as an Edison “Talking Automaton” delivering speeches at the fair. Accompanying it is an exceptionally clever, circus tent-shaped fold-out advertisement promoting the Edison Phonograph as “The Greatest of All Entertainments,” showcasing early cylinder phonographs on the interior. Both pieces are printed on period paper and cardstock, serving as spectacular examples of 19th-century marketing genius and early audio history. Objectively, both items remain in good antique condition with bright, stable graphics; the Hub Gore trade card shows minor edge and corner wear with a light vertical crease, while the circus-themed folding tent piece exhibits some expected separation along its original fold lines. Tent piece: H 4.5″, W 5.25″, D 0.1″. Postcard: H 3.75″, W 6″, D 0.1″. Please see photos for condition. From the Allan Koenigsberg collection.
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